BLAZING A TRAIL

Duke University developed the nation’s first physician assistant program, accepting its first class of PA students in 1965, and Kettering College was not far behind. In the fall of 1973, through the inspiration and efforts of three men – Winston Beaven, PhD, Kettering College president; A.B. Black, MD, chief of staff at Kettering Medical Center; and Clinton Trott, MD, a prominent area family physician, - the first PA class began at Kettering College.

THE CLINTON TROTT SOCIETY

Dr. Trott served as program director and medical director until his retirement in 1984. His presence is still felt in the program, as Kettering College’s chapter of the Student Academy of the American Academy of Physician Assistants bears his name – the Clinton Trott Society. Outstanding Kettering College PA graduates with a strong interest in primary care both at the time of admission and upon graduation are given the Clinton Trott Family Medicine Recognition.

PA PROGRAM GRANTED ACCREDITATION

Kettering College’s PA program was granted accreditation upon its first application in 1975, and it has maintained active accreditation since then. In both 2000 and 2007, the program was granted a seven-year re-accreditation status, a distinction only approximately 10 percent of PA programs receive.

ACHIEVING NEW HEIGHTS

As of May 2011, more than 910 PAs had completed their education at Kettering College. The majority of graduates received an Associate of Science degree; however, this degree changed in 2000, with post-graduate certificates awarded to 20 graduates. In 2001, Kettering College graduated its first class of baccalaureate-prepared PAs.

The summer of 2006 was a hallmark for the PA program at Kettering College, as it admitted its first class of students for the Masters of Physician Assistant Studies. December 2008 marked the commencement of that class of MPAS students, the first to earn graduate degrees from Kettering College.

updated 6/20/11